Nasal appligator



934 Murry/If Patented Nov. 14, 1944 was: SIATEZS Pi i'FE-N ll" QEEEGE nnsnanremomdm Charles s: McGivern, mar teongmgrl f AlmlicationiJanuarypzl, 1944;,SjenialNmL51aJ 71z Loam... (o1. 1zs=2so--)' This. invention; relates to a nasal: applicator; Nasal applicators in common use today by the: medical profession fallgenerally in two-classifications,,ii e; disposable; applicators and -non -diss pasablei applicatorsi Non-disposable applicators:

areiuse'd over and over again; and: sterilized betweenieach use. The original cost ofinon-disposahlelnasaliiapplicators'has; in the past; been rela-,- tively: high. Howeverif they had been con-- structe'disoi-that longt continued use wists:possible; the over all cost wouldfhavezbeen much cheaper than disposable applicators. Non-disposableappllcatorsi used: in: thespast: have-beam made from metal: and: have. had? a, handle: bonded thereto, While.handlesnare:verycdesirable from the physicianisastandpoint; they have-created many serious problemsi In. the..m'.stl place, the handlespwhich hayabeenabonded'ztol the shank of theapplica-tors havebeentrelativelylheavw in many instances bo- I ingza heavier: than the shank of the applicators- Obyiously, such! construction: has: been 4 undesir ables from. the patientsstandpoint by: causing undue.pressure. of the cotton on the nasal passage; Also; the weight: of? the. handle on nondisposable:applicatorslmadewin ithe past has often dislodged E the medicant bearing cottomfrom theposition originally: placed :by the physician; there-'- by defeating the intended function-ofithe medi cant. Furthermore, the handles bonded to nondisposablenasal applicators; constructed in the past have, after long continued usage and sterilization, become loose and finally separated from the shank of the applicator, thereby rendering the applicator valueless because of the cost of rebonding the handle to the shank has been prohibitive.

Because of the aforementioned problems of the usual non-disposable nasal applicators, physicians and the trade have resorted to disposable applicators. The disposable. applicators now commonly in use by physicians consists merely of an elongated slender shank of wood. This -{provid a; nasal applicatorr. havinga. hand-la type of applicator is now almost universally used only once because they are not susceptibleto sterilization. Therefore, while their original cost is small, a physician will, over a long period of time,

use a greats number;- on them;-. thus; making; the cost; or? nasal applicators to met-physician relaa tivelyE/high.

Gne 1 of the: primmobjectsioff my invention-21s ltor provide a. nasalsapplicaton: having a: handle: wherein the applicator may?bevused rin'definitelw without" dangenof the .handlerbecoming;separated fromi-theisamez. l I

'Anotherrprime object Off myi invention: law to Whereimthe: handle is .relativelmlightrimwslzht.

Another;- prime objcctlzissto provide'laanasal; ape-l pl-icatun wherein; thecottons may easily; and? quickly? secured: thereto; without dangers of." the cettonzaccidently:separatingtherefrom.

Another? objecti of; mm invention: is'. to provide" aw-nasallapplicaton' whereim the; aforementionedr.

harinse cottomshown :1 in; outline; secured; to: oneend thereof'i,

Eigure -21 is at top plan, view of andi' Eigureg3 is atbottomzplan.view offthe applicator:

Eigurmis-lissan: enlarged ifrazgmentary side view: ofithecapnlicator;

Reference numeral Ill indicates the shank of the nasal applicator and is made of a non-corrosive acid resistant metal, preferably sterling silver. wire of suitable gauge. It will be understood, of course, that other suitable metal may be used which is not subject to corrosion and which would not be attacked by the acids and other medicants used by a physician. I have found, however, that sterling wire lends itself admirably to this purpose. A handle, generally indicated at I2 is formed integrally with the shank III by bending the wire adjacent one end thereof over on the shank at 14, after which the wire is bent around the shank to form a plurality of convolutions. It will be noted that the convolution on the outer the applicator;

end of the handle is larger in diameter than the next convolution, and so on, so that the convolutions gradually decrease in diameter until the inner convolution frictionally engages the outer periphery of the shank I0. It will also be noted that the convolutions l6 are widely separated to form an elongated handle which may be easily and securely grasped by the physician between his forefinger and thumb. While the space between the convolutions and their diameter is, of

course, not critical, it will be understood that the diameter of the convolutions and the space therebetween should be sumciently great to provide a handle of suitable size which does not materially add to the weight of the applicator. In actual practice, I have found that the most desirable length of a nasal applicator is approximately six'inches. Therefore, it would be desirable to start with a piece of sterling wire approximately nine inches long, and bend approximately three inches of one end thereof to form the convolutions as shown in Figure 1. Five convolutions should normaly be suflicient to form a handle of approximately one-fourth inch in diameter and approximately one inch in length. Thus, the

handle, if formed as shown in Figure 1, will be of,

sufficient diameter and length, and will make the applicator only approximately .a third heavier in total weight than a six inch applicator would be without a handle.

Another important aspect of the handle which should be noted is that the innermost convolution for purposesof' clarity) by flattening the tip portion of the shank. 'By providing the base of the wedge at the outer extremity of the shank, it will be obvious that the cotton will not accidently separate from the applicator.

A groove I9 is formed in the shank ill to serve as indicia for indicating to the physician the amount of cotton to be wrapped about the applicator. Also, I have provided serrations which extend about the periphery of the shank l0, and extend from the indicia groove [9 downwardly for a short distance. The serrations 20 will-enable the physician to wrap the cotton tightly at the inner portion thereof. Thus, with the serrations 20 securing the cotton at its inner portion to the shank l0, and the projection I8 securing the cotton at its outer portion to the shank, the possibility of having the cotton accidentally separate from the applicator is quite remote. Furthermore, by having an indicia groove positioned immediately above the serrations, the physician will spread the cotton out to the desired length. Obviously if the physician used only a small dob of cotton at the end of the applicator, the cotton might work loose while in the nasal passages. It is well known in the medical profession that cotton is too often lost in the nasal passages because of separation of the cotton from the applicator. When the cotton is lost, the physician must resort to probing, and

too often surgery must be performed in order to remove the cotton. Thus, by providing the projection I8, the serrations 20, and spreading the cotton out in length to the indicia groove I9, I have found that it is impossible to have the cotton accidentally separate from the applicator, while, at the same time, it is exceedingly easy to remove the cotton from the applicator when it is so desired.

From the foregoing description, it will be understood that the nasal applicator which forms the subject-matter of this invention is a unitary integral structure having a handle which cannot possibly work loose and wherein the handle is light in weight (not adding more than one-third to the total weight of the applicator), and where-'- in the cotton will not accidentally become sep arated from the applicator.

I claim:

A nasal applicator comprising an elongated shank, a handle positioned adjacent one end of said shank and being formed of a plurality of spaced convolutions which encircle said shank,

the innermost convolution frictionally binding.

said shank for preventing movement of said convolutions relative to each other and said shank, said convolutions being formed integrally with I said shank, said handle, in its entirety, being of shank, serrations on said shank adjacent to but separated from said projection, and indicia on said shank positioned between said handle and said serrations.

CHARLES s. MCGIVERN. 

